


A Night in the Sculpture Garden

by MystExplorer



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Body Paint, Gen, Nudity, Sculpture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-21
Updated: 2018-04-21
Packaged: 2019-04-25 15:24:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,568
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14381493
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MystExplorer/pseuds/MystExplorer
Summary: Molly gets an unexpected surprise when she takes a nighttime stroll through a sculpture garden.





	A Night in the Sculpture Garden

     The moon shined brightly as Molly made her way to the sculpture garden near her flat. It had been a long day at the lab and she felt that a stroll through the garden would help her relax and collect her thoughts. She liked coming here because it was nice and quiet, especially late at night when not many people would be out. She was pleased to discover that she had the place to herself.

      The sculptures varied in size, shape, color and texture. Some were realistic, others more surrealistic. Molly had never claimed to be an expert on art but she appreciated that the sculptures did not conform to one style or another. Each one was unique in its own special way. She particularly liked the statues that models had posed for.

       As she made her way further into the garden, Molly spotted a statue she had not seen before. She moved closer to get a better look at it. It was of a nude woman standing with her arms at her sides and her eyes closed. It appeared to be made of white marble and looked stunningly lifelike. In fact, Molly could not help but get the feeling that she had seen the statue somewhere before. The face looked familiar but since the eyes were closed, she had trouble placing it. Still, the artist had clearly done a fantastic job and the statue had earned its place in the garden.

      “Most impressive,” Molly said and turned to leave.

      “Why, thank you,” said a voice. Molly looked around but did not see anyone. She then realized that the voice had come from behind her and slowly turned around. Her heart skipped a beat as she discovered that, if she was seeing what she thought she saw, the statue had come to life. It was smiling at her and its eyes were now open. They were the most brilliant blue and Molly suddenly remembered why the statue had seemed so familiar.

      “Irene?” she said cautiously.

      “Yes,” the statue replied.

      “Irene Adler?”

      “The one and only. It’s nice to finally meet you, Molly Hooper. I’ve heard so much about you.”

      “But how… why…. what…”

      “Questions! Questions! I’m sure you have a lot of them. Allow me to explain.”

      “Please do,” Molly said, trying hard to keep her composure.

       “You see, ever since I’ve been on the run, I’ve stayed in touch with Sherlock. I never tell him where I am but I send him the occasional text letting him know I’m still out there. Unfortunately, he hasn’t replied to me. So I had to devise a plan for getting through to him. That’s where you come in, Molly.”

       “Me?”

       “Oh yes. Sherlock listens to you. He trusts you. He even asked you to help him fake his own death.”

       “How do you know about that?!”

       “I have eyes and ears all over the place, Molly Hooper. No detail is too small to escape my notice. I’ve had people watching you for quite some time now.”

       “Watching me? What exactly do you mean by that?”

       “Don’t be upset. I haven’t put a camera in your flat, unlike certain relatives of Sherlock I won’t mention. Yes, I know about that too,” she said in response to the look of disgust on Molly’s face. “They’ve just been observing you from a distance. And what they’ve discovered is that this garden is one of your favorite hangouts. You like coming here alone at night. So I decided that the only way to meet you without getting interrupted was to paint myself white and pretend to be a statue.”

       “Is that so? And you decided to do it naked?”

       “Of course. I feel I’m in my element when I’m naked.” Irene looked down at her body. “I call this my battle dress. Didn’t Sherlock ever tell you about the time I greeted him in it?” Molly stayed silent. “Perhaps not. He was a little flummoxed by it.”

       “Aren’t you… cold?”

       “No. I have an astoundingly high level of self-control. That’s how I’ve managed to stay still for several days.”

       “ _Days_? But how on Earth is that possible?”

       “When I was on the run, I spent some time in a Buddhist monastery. The monks taught me how to put myself into a trance to the point that I don’t need to eat, drink or sleep. I can slow my breathing and heartbeat so that, to the untrained eye, I am no different from any of those other statues you admire so much. My body doesn’t age while I’m in the trance. It’s very, very deep and the mind has a tendency to get lost in it. That’s why I have a trigger that snaps me out of it.”

       “And that is?”

       “Your voice.”

       “What do you mean, ‘my voice’?”

       “My contacts have managed to intercept some of your phone calls.”

       “How dare you!” Molly took a threatening step forward.

       “It’s all right, Molly, we erased them when we were done with them. What I did was train myself to listen for your voice while in the trance. So when you spoke in my presence earlier tonight, I returned to reality. Clever isn’t it?”

       “I’m not sure if ‘clever’ is the right word. ‘Insane’ and ‘diabolical’ spring to mind.” Irene laughed.

       “Oh you are a treat, Molly dear. I can see why Sherlock likes you.”

       “Ah yes, now we come back to the reason for this overly elaborate charade of yours: Sherlock. What about him?”

       “I want you to give him a message.”

       “Really? What kind of message?”

       “Just that I want to see him. It’s been too long. We have much to discuss and his silence… well, it’s killing me. Sherlock may not realize it but he needs me. And I need him.”

       “And what makes you think I would ever help you?”

       “Because you know what it’s like to want someone who doesn’t want you. We’re kindred spirits, Molly. Two of a kind.” Molly felt anger bubbling up inside her. Irene knew almost everything there was to know about her and was prepared to use her to get to Sherlock. She could not allow that to happen.

       “You know I could have you arrested. You’re wanted on every continent.”

       “I’m sure you could. And if you did, my contacts would leak a certain phone call to the media. You see, when I said earlier that we erased your calls, that wasn’t exactly true. We kept the one where you confessed your love to Sherlock. I figured it might come in handy.” Molly had to restrain herself from throttling Irene right then and there.

       “You’re an evil, rotten bi-“

       “Now now, let’s not overreact. If you agree not to alert the authorities to my whereabouts, your secret is safe with me. And that’s the truth. The naked truth.” Irene winked. Molly thought long and hard before responding.

        “And what if I do nothing?”

        “Then I guess I’ll be waiting here indefinitely.”

        “What?”

        “I had a feeling you wouldn’t agree to my request right away and might need some time to think about it. So I planned to go back into the trance until you’d worked up the courage and came back to tell me that Sherlock got the message.”

        “So if I don’t you’ll just… stay here?” Irene nodded.

        “I've instructed my contacts not to intervene. They aren't the most trustworthy people so they'll probably abandon me after not hearing from me for a while. And then I suppose I’d essentially _become_ a statue. Never moving, never speaking. Forever waiting for the young woman who can break the spell to return. Are you willing to condemn me to that kind of existence, Molly?”

        “You did it to yourself, Irene. Your plan was almost perfect but you forgot one thing: I have a choice. And I choose not to help you. Sherlock doesn’t need you. He has John, he has Mycroft and he has me. That’s more than enough.”

        “Well, needless to say, I hope you’ll reconsider. If not, then I’m ready to start my new life as a statue.”

        “It won’t be so bad. People will come from all around to admire you. And if it’s true that you don’t age while in the trance, then you’ll be perpetually young and beautiful.” Irene considered this for a moment.

        “When you put it like that, it actually sounds ideal.”

        “Goodbye Irene. Enjoy your new life. I’m off to live mine.”

        “Farewell”. Irene took a deep breath, closed her eyes and resumed the position that Molly had found her in. Molly walked away swiftly.

 _Did that really just happen_? she thought. _Did I really just talk to Irene Adler or am I just imagining things after working long hours at the lab? I need to go home and take a nice hot bubble bath. That should help clear my head._ As she approached the entrance of the garden, she passed an elderly couple and nodded at them.

         “Evening,” the couple said. They continued down the path until they reached the statue that may or may not have been Irene Adler.

         “Oh how magnificent!” the husband exclaimed.

         “Absolutely exquisite!” his wife said. “The artist is a genius!”

          Molly took one last look at the woman who had come tantalizingly close to besting Sherlock Holmes. _She’ll be all right_ , she thought and left the garden for the final time.

 

 


End file.
